Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Matcha Frosting

A few years ago I fell in love with Matcha Lattes, then I made this Matcha Pound Cake and my love affair continued. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with natural dies in desserts, like these beet dyed bright pink cookies, so I thought I’d try something naturally green for St. Patrick’s Day. These cupcakes are lightly sweetened but still rich in chocolate and then topped with a matcha green tea dyed frosting. If you like the flavor of matcha feel free to add more powder to the frosting as you whip it up, if you’re less of a matcha fan, add less and you won’t even be able to detect the flavor but still enjoy the color.

Use Matcha Green Tea powder to naturally die frosting for these festive St. Patricks Day cupcakes. Perfect for green occasions or any occasion.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 bananas, mashed*

1 egg

3/4 cup chocolate chips or chunks

MATCHA FROSTING:

2 sticks butter, at room temp

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 teaspoons matcha powder

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 and line a 12 muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients with the sugar: buttermilk, oil, vanilla, 2 mashed bananas, and 1 egg.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks (I like to roughly chop chocolate chunks for these muffins).

Divide the batter out into 12 muffins (the batter will be dense and sticky). Bake for 5 minutes at 425 then turn the heat down to 375 and bake for 12-14 minutes or until you press the top of the cupcake with your finger and the cake bounces back. Let cool in pan for a couple minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

For the frosting: Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a stand mixer with the whisk attachment to whip up the butter, powdered sugar, matcha, almond extract and salt. Use a spatula to transfer the frosting to a frosting bag. Swirl icing out onto the cupcakes.

Notes

For the bananas to add a caramelized flavor you can caramelize them on the stove top with a tablespoon of the sugar. Cook, stirring and mashing with a spatula, for 3-5 minutes on medium low.
For the matcha frosting, since many of the matcha powdered differ in strength and color, add 1/2 teaspoon at a time to test the color and flavor. Adding the matcha gradually will ensure that you have perfectly colored and flavored frosting